A Cantina Owner
by Taka Oling
Summary: Meet Taka Oling. He's your average cantina owner, businessman, and adventurer. He's also been a part of some of the galaxy's bigget moments. Follow his journey from Tatooine, to the Death Star, to Jakku and all places in between.
1. Introduction

p style="text-align: center;"strongemA long time ago,/em/strong/p  
p style="text-align: center;"strongemIn a galaxy far, far away.../em/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strongTo make it simple, iit's just my OC in the Star Wars Universe. Because of the long period of time in which the canon media is streched out, I've added in a special something to make him last longer. Basically how this works is each chapter covers a movie, a season of one of the shows, or a filler between movies where no media happened. For this, I'll be covering the following, plus any new stuff to come out in chronological order. So it's an adventure!/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strongMovies:/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Phantom Menace/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Attack of the Clones/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Revenge of the Sith/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-A New Hope/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-The Empire Strikes Back/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Return of the Jedi/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Force Awakens/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Rogue One (when it comes out and i know it falls between 3 and 4 but I'm just listing)/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strongShows and Seasons:/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Clone Wars Movie (counts I guess)/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Clone Wars Season 1/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Clone Wars Season 2/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Clone Wars Season 3/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Clone Wars Season 4/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Clone Wars Season 5/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Clone Wars Season 6/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Rebels Season 1/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Rebels Season 2/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Rebels Season 3 (and any other that follow)/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strongFiller:/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Pre 1/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Between 1 and 2/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Between 4 and 5/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Between 5 and 6/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-Between 6 and 7/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"strongThat's about it! For fun reasons, each chapter will be on a different planet (or space station, wink wink) To provide interest. I hope you all enjoy the zany and action filled adventures of Taka Oling, iintergalactic man of bartending!/strong/p 


	2. Tatooine

On the planet of Tatooine there was a part of the desert known as the Dune Sea, covered in sand and scorching with heat. For miles upon miles, all anyone could see was hills of the yellow, burning sand that would scald one on a simple touch.

Within this large expansion of sand and misery loomed many native beings that one wouldn't expect of such a barren place. In deep holes lay the carnivorous sarlac, beasts who grew in the ground and waited for prey to pass so that they would have their next meal. Banthas and dewbacks, both large lumbering animals, traveled in herds, searching for food and water constantly. Even the sand people, or tusken raiders to those who lived anywhere but Tatooine, roamed the land but still usually stayed away from this part of the planet.

Yes, the Dune Sea was arguably the harshest part of the already unforgiving wasteland. No creature that could help it stayed or lasted for long out there.

It was on a particularly hot day that the burning sands held a new resident...temporary as it may be. On the top of a dune, resting with his face down in the sand. A Human.

The human, by name, was Taka Oling. Young by human years, Taka had come from Coreilla to work in the bustling outer rim spaceport. His slick black hair and dancing green eyes held a playful sort of mischief, but he always wore a beaming smile, Barely reaching his twenty third summer, Taka had found the employment of the elderly cantina order, Lep Hittleson, in Mos Eisley.

Now Lep, a Twi'lek from Ryloth, was to say a bit of a strange being. He was always building and assembling machines and droids to make his life easier. He loved his patrons in his little cantina and met each one with a welcoming smile.

So, naturally, when Taka Oling came seeking work, Lep was more than happy to offer the young man a job in exchange for food and a place to sleep. Lep saw the young human as almost a portal to his own past. Take was happy and always had a smile on his face, no matter what dubious task Lep needed the boy to do. Dish washing, cooking, droid maintenance, Lep was amazed at how quick Taka adapted to each no job.

Lep finally took Taka aside one day and told him something special. "Listen Taka, I don't have a whole lot of years left in me. And when I go, there won't be anyone to take care of my place. You've worked with me for two years and I think it's fair to say that when I pass on, I want you to have my cantina. You've earned boy."

Never before had Taka been happier. He loved working in the cantina and wouldn't want to change a thing for the world. Sure, he still wanted to see the galaxy, but hearing the old Twi'lek bestow so much on him made Taka realize how much Lep liked him.

After that, the old tinkerer had a secret to show Taka. He pressed a button under the drink counter in the center of the room and a the counter popped open to reveal many coloured buttons and a steering mechanism in the center. Taka looked at his mentor in amazement.

"This place is...is a ship?!" He exclaimed as Lep smiled and pressed a finger to his own lips with a smile. Yes all was well between the two...until about a rotation later when thugs demanded an unreasonable amount of money from Lep.

Wurt Lucheon was a known Duro enforcer of Jabba the Hutt. Despite the crimelord being his boss, Wurt seemed to take money as he pleased with his group of Rodian and Weequay thugs. And it just so happened he wanted money from old Lep.

While Lep was willing to give up over half his year's earnings, Taka was not so easily persuaded. He and Wurt argued, threats of bodily harm coming from both Human and Duro mouths.

Taka had finally had enough. He slammed his hand down on a table and made Wurt an offer he couldn't refuse. Take bet the Duro if he could beat Taka in a single game of sabacc, Wurt could have the cantina and all its' earnings. If Taka won however, Wurt would leave and never bother them again. The Duro and his thugs agreed and two sat down and played, the cantina full of patrons. While a long and grueling game of back and fourths, Taka eventually came out the winner.

Furious, Wurt left the cantina. But that night, as Taka was running an errand for Lep in Mos Eisley, the Duro and his men grabbed the young man. Rather than torture or kill the poor man robbed away from his happiness, they took him to the middle of the Dune Sea and dumped him there in the darkness of night. This plan held far worse pain than any blaster bolt.

Lep, realizing what happened when Taka did not return, fell into a fit of sorrow and agony of loss. The next morning, when the doors opened back up, the usual patrons found Lep slumped over the counter with a small blaster at his feet. The fine hole in his blue head didn't leave much to the imagination as to what happened.

Despite public outcry, Wurt seized the cantina as his own amd claimed that was the penalty for crossing him. On the morning after leaving a man to die, he owned the most popular cantina in Mos Eisley. Wurt smiled to himself as he and his thugs went about looting the credits Lep had left for himself and Taka.

Which brings us to Taka. The poor man, just past his twenty fifth year, staggered around the Dune Sea aimlessly. Tatooine's triple suns beat down on on his coal black hair, it cut down to his sweat slicked head. His slim body was perhaps a blessing and a curse in this situation as he was not slowed by fat but had no calories or fat to burn through to keep him going.

Taka had lost count how many dunes he had walked up and down. His vision was constantly blurry from sweat running into his eyes and his tongue cracked in the heat.

"Must...get...back..." he breathed desperately, his sleeveless arms slick with sweat. He was glad for his light, white shirt that he had worned nearly everyday since he had arrived on the planet. His dewbacks skin boots, a present from Lep, trudged relentlessly through the shifting sand.

Taka felt sweat run down his loosely clothed legs as he stumbled some but regained his footing. "This is hopeless." He thought, tiredness and exhaustion tugging at him to stop as he came to crest the next dune.

And he fell. A mix of sheer exhaustion and the thought of never getting back hit him as he toppled down in the sand. Taka rolled heavily, great wisps of gritty rock getting thrown up as he fell down the great slope.

He didn't even try and stop himself. Taka felt the burning sand sticking to his slick skin, getting in his mouth and tearing at his eyes.

Taka suddenly flopped heavily onto his stomach, reaching the end of his ride. Darkness loomed closer as Taka was ready for what was to come. He didn't want to die, but he felt it was inevitable.

Wait. Taka's head rose a little bit, feeling an odd sensation on the back of his legs. The ever familiar cooling feel of shade.

Spewing sand frok his mouth and wiping it off his eyes, Taka rolled over and sat up quickly. He wasn't dreaming as the refreshing shield from the heat caressed his shoulders.

Taka turned his hand to see what he was feeling. Worst came to worst, he thought, this was how dying felt. But this was no cold grasp pf death tickling his shoulders and legs.

There was a rocky outcrop about Taka's height sticking straight out from the side of the dune. Light only made it so far in, revealing a smooth stone floor with moisture dripping down before fading to pitch darkness again.

The young man didn't waste any time at all. He scrambled on hands and knees toward the opening sliding on the smooth rock that the sand and given way to. The damp, cool air enveloped Taka as he lay down on the soothing floor, breathing in sheer relief.

"Yeah...wooho." Taka raised his hands in tired triumph. He stared up at the rough and rocky roof, silence surrounding he and leaving him with only his shallow breaths.

In the slience, Taka heard a faint sound as he willed his way to a sit up position. At first, he didn't really recognize the constant sound from anywhere on Tatooine. That's when he realized he had never heard it before on Tatooine and for good reason.

Taka scrambled forward into the darkness, crawling on his stomach. He didn't care if the rocky ground scraped his legs or cut his stomach.

He saw the drop, and frankly didn't care as he plunged off another outcrop into a pool of water. The water was cool and clear as Taka came to the surface and stood up.

The small ledge above him was within reach and the water was only waist deep as he plunged his face back down. He sucked down mouthful after mouthful of the sweet, cool liquid as the burning in his throat subsided.

"Thank Jabba!" He yelled as he fell back in the water again. It was the best Taka had felt in years. But his happy smile faded as he noticed his surroundings.

There was an eerie blue glow to water and walls of this part of this part of the cave. It seemed to pulse with almost magical energy as Taka observed all the walls around him. There was something else too.

When Taka had come in, he had been covered from head to toe in a fine film of gritty sand. If he ever saw someone he knew, there was no way they would recognize him.

But now as he looked around in the pool, he was clean of sand...and so was the pool. No bits or film hung around in the water or tainted its' almost perfect clarity.

Taka himself was feeling strange himself. He felt rejuvenated and full of energy, which wasn't uncommon but was hard to do in the desert. He blinked a couple times, his eyes still adjusting to the dim light.

And he saw it. At the far edge of the pool, was a shinning plaque reflecting the eerie light off the water. It had something written in Basic as Taka slowly stood back up and waded over to the far edge where he saw it.

Once he was close enough, he read the words out loud. "Whoever stumbled upon this pool, know you've discovered the secret to eternal life. A single drop prevents death by age and all that comes with it, physical and mental. Be wary, this does not make oneself invincible. Run."

"Run?" Taka questioned as he heard a rumbling sound from above. He looked up to see the roof of the cave shaking and cracking as his eyes went wide. "Uh oh."

Wasting no time at all, Taka leapt from the water and scrambled over the small bank from which he had first come in. Behind him he heard the splashing and cracking of rocks falling as he didn't dare look behind him. He ran at a full speed, staggering and slipping on occasion. He could hear the ever growing sound of larger rocks crumbling down and smashing in places he once stood.

The ever blinding light grew in front of Taka...but so did the crashing cracking on stone behind him. He didn't dare glance behind for he thought he might faint from fright.

"Just keep running! Just keep running! Don't look back! Don't look back!" He told himself before flinging his body outside the cave and into the scorching sands.

There was a final loud crash as Taka face planted in the sand...for a second in the last ten minutes. He lifted up his head, once again covered in sand and spewed a mouth of sand.

"I'm moving somewhere with less fricking sand." He mumbled, getting to his hands and knees. He remembered all too clearly the burning and heat of the sand and sun as he wiped grits of it from his eyes.

Glancing over his shoulder, Taka wasn't surprised to see the once dark cave entry now nothing more a mound of sharp rock and sand protruding from the dune he had fallen from earlier.

It was at that moment that Taka truly thought about what he had done. "Never age? Sounds pretty good." He smiled to himself, clenching a fist around in a show of strength to no one other than himself.

His heart sank however when he realized how good it was out here. The prophecy only stated he wouldn't die of old age, not heat exhaustion. Within seconds, thick beads of sweat formed on Taka's head once again as he stood back up.

"Might as well try and wa-" he started but stopped. He could hear a low hum in the air. And not like the usual hum of the desert heat. Like the hum of a machine.

Taka looked around over his shoulder, a perplexed look on his face as he felt a shadow of a cloud go over him. Only he realized Tatooine never had clouds.

Looking straight up, he saw the underside of Jabba the Hutt's sail barge. It wasn't an unfamiliar sight as he remembered seeing the vehicle fly over Mos Eisley several time before.

Taka didn't waste a second. He scrambled up the side of the dune where he had first fallen and waved like crazy. "Hey! Hey! C'mon, you booty lovin slug!"

One of the guards on the side of the ship just happened to glance down and see the frantic Taka. In words Taka couldn't hear, he quickly waved over several more guards who dropped him down a ladder made of rigid, dry wood.

Taka didn't waste a second. Grasping each rung, the young man took the them two at a time before he popped up on the top of the barge. "I'm saved!" He yelled as the guards helped him stand up on the top.

He was swarmed with questions all the way back to Mos Eisley, but each answer was but a dream to him. It all just now dwelled on Taka what his life would be like...and he smiled. He had a plan to get his cantina back. He had given up hope Lep was still alive. If Wurt had punished him, than Lep never stood a chance.

Taka mourned the old man but he tried to see the bright side. He would honor Lep, name the cantina after him. And then, Taka would go...well he didn't really know where he would go. Taka told himself to just play it by ear.

He didn't think Jabba ever knew he was on the ship. He never say any of the guards leave or go below to tell the crimelord about his arrival. Taka was thankful he wouldn't have to deal with explaining all this.

When the guards asked why he was out in the desert, he simply told them some thugs had robbed him and dropped him there. When asked which thugs, he made up a name. "Bossk. Disgusting guy if you ask me."

The trip to Mos Eisley was short on the big ship. The sail barge dropped him at the outskirts of the town. It was mid day now, the triple suns high in the sky as Taka thanked his saviors.

For their trouble, Taka told them they could have free drinks at 'his' cantina. The five or so skiff guards seemes eager for something to quench their thrist so they took up Taka's offer.

Taking one of the skiffs on the barge, they flew directly to front of the cantina. Taka could see it in their eyes that the guards, all humans, were eager for something to drink. This was key to his plan.

They approached the door, after parking the skiff on the side of the busy street. Taka looked ahead and saw a pair of green skinned Rodians by his door. He set his plan into action.

"Oh darn! Some gang has taken over my place! Sorry guys. I guess no drinks today." He told them all in a sad voice before starting to sulk away. But as anticipated, the skiff guards weren't ready to give up a drink that easy.

"Oh we'll see about that!" One tanned guard informed Taka. "You leave the heavy lifting to us, Mr..."

"Solo." Taka lied. "The name's Solo." The guards nodded as they made their way to the door, armor and helmets on. The Rodians noticed them but too late as they were no match for the numbers of the skiff guards.

Taka stood back, cringing with a smile everytime a guard landed a good blow. The men threw the unconscious and beaten bodies of the two Rodians in an alley as Taka put his hand to the pressure sensor by the door.

It slid up with a metallic whoosh as he and the guards entered. The place was lowly lit and he could just barely make out Wurt and three Weequays in the corner...drinking his drinks and playing sabacc.

Wurt was either too stunned or too drunk to process what was happening. The skiff guards angrily and aggressive escorted the thugs out of the cantina as Taka took one long look at it.

The center island was the where the magic happened. The bartender could maneuver around his small working station, fighting drinks on one side and cooking meals on the other. It was bigger than most other cantinas.

The place was filled with tables, every corner except for a space to the opposite of the door. It was left free for anyone who felt the need to dance. Taka hated, absolutely hated watchin someone dance. It seemed clumsy. But music was a different story.

In each one of the corners was a surround sound speaker, projecting sound controlled by the tender at the bar. Taka knew it could go from a subtle tone to a mad raving sound to dance too.

Lep had taught Taka all the secrets to the place. Everything from the overly big store room out back to why it looked so rustic outside. It was just a plain metal dome with two high set windows and door. An odd antenna rose up on the back to pick up radio signals for music.

But Taka was more interested in one thing. He looked up to see the skiff guards leaving and Wurt eyeing him angrily and struggling against. He cursed the human spat but the skiffs held him back until he was dragged outside with his other thugs.

And Taka shut the door. He had controls for everything behind his counter. The door whooshed down and locked behind the last skiff guard before Taka turned to face the newest addition to what Lep had taught him.

He saw three things. A turning wheel, a handheld accelerator, and power button. He pushed the power button slowly, unsure of what would happen. It glowed green as soon as he touched it.

The building jerked upwards. Taka almost fell down as he grabbed the counter to steady himself. "Ok! This might be a little tricky..." he trailed off as he pushed the accelerator forward.

The building shot straight up as Taka was pinned back on the edge of the counter. His hands barely gripped the wheels as a small screen popped open from the bar top. It showed what should be in front of him if there was a viewport. He looked around in amazement as the cantina climbed higher into the air.

"Woohoo!" He yelled as he watched the sky darken and become the every growing darkness of space. His eyes reflected the stars that dotted the edges of the sky as he entered the unknown...and the start of the greatest story in the galaxy.


End file.
